The Los Angeles Dodgers doubt Clayton Kershaw will pitch for the World Series champions in the MLB playoffs after the ace landed on the 10-day injured list.
Kershaw is back on the IL just days before the Dodgers begin their quest for back-to-back championships due to left forearm discomfort, the franchise announced on Saturday.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner had returned from a left forearm injury, which sidelined him for 57 games, however the star pitcher exited Friday's clash with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Kershaw – an eight-time All-Star and National League (NL) MVP who is in the final season of his three-year, $93million contract – lasted just 1.2 innings, giving up three runs with one strikeout against the Brewers.
As the Dodgers prepare for the offseason, manager Dave Roberts was asked if the 33-year-old future Hall of Famer will pitch again this year and he told reporters: "I don't think so.
"I think right now where we're at, we're going to proceed with that mindset. I'm certainly saddened, hoping we never had to get to this point.
"You know, you want to be certainly very thoughtful and sensitive to Clayton, but in the same breath, still kind of making sure we stay focused on moving forward. That's kind of where we're all at."
In 2021, Kershaw's ERA stands at 3.55 – his highest number since his rookie year (4.26) with the Dodgers in 2008.
Kershaw – a World Series champion – boasts a 10-8 record this season with 144 strikeouts in 121.2 innings pitched.
"My future's gonna take care of itself," Kershaw said after leaving Friday's contest. "I'm not really worried about that right now. I really wanted to be a part of the moment right now, and I wanted to be with this group going through October.
"That was my only focus this year. Once I got hurt, it was just to come back and make it up for this month. That's the hard part right now is knowing it's gonna be a challenge to even contribute at all this next month.
"But as far as anything else goes — I haven't wrapped my head around it, and I don't plan to any time soon. I'm just excited to watch these guys next month."
Paris Saint-Germain 2-3 Clermont: Messi and Ramos denied winning send-off as visitors fight back
Paris Saint-Germain failed to muster a winning send-off for Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos as they ended the Ligue 1 season by squandering a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss against Clermont.
Early goals for the Spaniard and Kylian Mbappe put the champions on top at Parc des Princes, before Johan Gastien, Mehdi Zeffane and Grejohn Kyei completed a stirring comeback from the visitors.
It was a damp last note for ex-LaLiga heroes Messi and Ramos, who leave Paris as two-time league champions but without having won supporters' hearts – with Messi booed ahead of kick-off.
Likewise, it may prove a dour final chapter for coach Christophe Galtier, who is widely tipped to depart despite leading PSG to a record 11th league title.
PSG, who wore shirts adorned with the name of injured team-mate Sergio Rico in the first half, needed VAR to rescue them after Kyei prodded home an early finish.
The hosts promptly seized control, with Ramos netting a farewell header from Vitinha's delivery before Mbappe doubled their lead with an excellent penalty following Alidu Seidu's foul on Achraf Hakimi.
Clermont refused to fold though, with Gastien capitalising on Marco Verratti's mistake to halve the arrears and Zeffane bundling in a leveller either side of Kyei putting a spot-kick wide in a thrilling first half.
Messi, who misfired on his farewell, spurned a chance to finish Mbappe's square ball after the restart before Kyei nosed the visitors in front with a close-range finish.
PSG continued to toil for an equaliser in the closing stages and Messi almost stole a point in the final minute of injury time, only for goalkeeper Mory Diaw to stop his direct free-kick with an acrobatic save.
RB Leipzig 2-0 Eintracht Frankfurt: Nkunku and Szoboszlai strikes ensure DFB-Pokal defence
Christopher Nkunku and Dominik Szoboszlai scored as RB Leipzig retained the DFB-Pokal with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in Saturday's final at the Olympiastadion.
Nkunku – playing what will likely be his final game for Leipzig amid suggestions he is set to join Chelsea – beat Kevin Trapp with a deflected effort 71 minutes into a tight encounter in Berlin.
Leipzig were rarely threatened by an uninspired Eintracht team, and Marco Rose's men wrapped up the victory when Nkunku turned provider, teeing up Szoboszlai to score five minutes from time.
That meant Leipzig capped a third-placed Bundesliga finish with a second major trophy in as many seasons, while Oliver Glasner's final game in charge of Eintracht was one to forget.
Timo Werner spurned a glorious chance to put Leipzig ahead after four minutes, side-footing straight at Trapp following a lightning counter-attack.
Randal Kolo Muani hit the side netting from a tight angle and Nkunku forced Tuta into a last-ditch block at the other end, but both sides struggled to break their opponents down in a cagey first half.
Eintracht's threat grew after the interval, but Mario Gotze volleyed straight at Janis Blaswich when presented with their best sight of goal, and Glasner's side were swiftly punished.
There was a huge stroke of fortune as Nkunku struck first, the Frenchman cutting in from the left before seeing his shot take two deflections to beat the unfortunate Trapp.
Eintracht never looked like fighting back from there, though, and Leipzig put the result beyond all doubt when Szoboszlai fired into the bottom-left corner after composed play by Nkunku.
Torino 0-1 Inter: Brozovic strike sees Nerazzurri warm up for Champions League final in style
Inter warmed up for the Champions League final with a 1-0 win over Torino to cap off their Serie A campaign.
The Nerazzurri head to Istanbul to face Manchester City on June 10, but the Coppa Italia winners had league business to attend to on Saturday.
Marcelo Brozovic's excellent strike proved the difference, with substitute goalkeeper Alex Cordaz making a superb save to preserve Inter's lead in the second half.
Inter will face an altogether tougher test in a week's time, but for now, Simone Inzaghi can reflect on a job well done in Serie A.
Romelu Lukaku sparked what had been an insipid first half into life when he crafted space on the edge of Torino's area and saw a low strike deflected just wide.
Stefan de Vrij headed straight at Vanja Milinkovic-Savic from the resulting corner, but Torino's goalkeeper was beaten in the 37th minute.
Given space and time on the edge around 20 yards out, Brozovic punished Torino with a fine left-footed strike that nestled in the bottom-right corner.
Brozovic turned provider shortly after the restart, only for Roberto Gagliardini to head wide from close range.
Ex-Inter forward Yann Karomah almost made an instant impact from the bench when he forced a fine save out of Samir Handanovic, who subsequently received an ovation when he made way for Cordaz in the 65th minute.
Cordaz made a stunning save soon after, reacting brilliantly to parry Antonio Sanabria's effort wide and ensure Inter ended their domestic campaign with a victory.
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